Don’t Piss It Away

Your vote matters. Let us tell you what to do with it.

Amid the noise of an election season, one person’s vote can
seem insignificant—like a trickle of skateboarder’s urine in a
38-million-gallon reservoir.

If only each voter
had an immediate impact—like the city’s absurd decision two weeks ago to
drain Mount Tabor Reservoir No. 5 because some teen might have peed in
it.

We vote not because we expect an immediate response, but because we owe it to our community to raise our collective voice.

What follows are our recommendations for how we think you should cast your vote—it’s our 2014 primary endorsement issue.

As we do every election cycle, we invite candidates in competitive races to a joint
appearance in our office, where we turn on the video camera and ask them
tough (we hope) questions. We also asked one question of all candidates
we hope will entertain, if not illuminate: If you could be any other
person, living or dead, who would you be? You can see video of these
endorsement interviews throughout this issue.

The primary election
May 20 allows Democrats and Republicans to choose among their own
tribes. In two of the biggest elections, GOP voters will select
candidates to take on two of the state’s most prominent Democratic
incumbents, U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley and Gov. John Kitzhaber.

That may be why turnout for primary elections is usually low—it seems as if nothing really gets decided until November.

Not so this year.

Voters may also
choose the executive who will oversee the health-care and public-safety
colossus known as Multnomah County, as well as decide whether to send
two long-term incumbents back to their seats on the Portland City
Council.

Without question,
however, the most important question in front of Portland voters is
Measure 26-156, which if passed would create an independent public
utility to control Portland’s water and sewer services.

For more than a
century, the city has relied on the pristine waters of Bull Run Lake on
the shoulder of Mount Hood for drinking water. Portland’s water supply
is rightfully the envy of the nation.

A handful of
corporations put this question on the ballot after years of City Hall
mismanagement of water and sewer funds. And now control of the city’s
water supply hangs in the balance.

So cast your vote. Let it fly. You might not see the waters rise, nor can we promise complete relief when you’re done.

But your contribution to the tide of democracy in your community will make a difference.

"In the low usage areas, we found that our vehicles sit idle four times longer, ultimately affecting overall vehicle availability for the Portland membership base, as well as parking for the Portland community."

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